Centennial Conference Championship Information
GETTYSBURG, Pa. – It's been four long years since the Gettysburg College volleyball team hoisted the Centennial Conference trophy and the Bullets are aiming to put a halt to that streak and reclaim its position atop the conference podium this weekend (Nov. 7-8) at the conference tournament hosted by Haverford College.
Gettysburg is the Centennial's leader in championships with 11, but the last time the Bullets grabbed the gold was in 2005. Not one of Gettysburg's five seniors were on that roster and the group does not want to be the first graduating class without a Centennial title since 1993, the Bullets' first year as a member of the conference.
“The seniors certainly want to leave Gettysburg with a conference title,” said Head Coach
Alexa Keckler, now in her fifth season at the helm. “They are very excited to be back in the playoffs and have something to prove. I hope their leadership and drive will help lift our team.”
This year's senior class is among the best statistically in school history. Setter
Amanda Krampf (Gaithersburg, Md./Gaithersburg) ranks third all-time in assists (3,800) and joins libero
Kristin Kotewicz (Columbia Hill, Md./River Hill) on the school's career top-10 list for digs.
Kristina Mercier (Baltimore, Md./Mount de Sales Academy) and
Stephanie Rickabaugh have combined for over 1,300 kills and
Mekenna Sigai (Baltimore, Md./Notre Dame Prep) has over 500 digs. All the numbers aside, the closest the senior class has come to the conference title was last season when the squad dropped a four-set decision to Haverford College in the championship match.
With the seniors at the steering wheel, it will take a complete all-around game-plan for Gettysburg to advance to the championship this weekend and dethrone three-time champ Haverford. The Bullets have been up and down this fall, winning their first eight matches of the year before dropping seven of 10. Health issues contributed to the fall, but with a full and healthy lineup over the last month, the team capped the regular season by winning seven of its final eight matches to grab the third seed in the conference tournament.
“We are finally all healthy,” noted Keckler. “We really struggled with sickness and injury for about three weeks in the beginning of the season. Along with injury and sickness came line-up changes and shifting players around. We had limited practice time with everyone healthy.”
“Since then,” she added, “we have had everyone back and have been able to make huge strides over the last few weeks.”
During the final four weeks of the season, the Bullets averaged over 12 kills and 20 digs per set. Leading that charge was junior
Kate Yoder (Emmaus, Pa./Emmaus), who bounced back from an early-season injury to finish second on the team at 2.39 kills per set and finish the regular season second in the CC in attack percentage at .340. The squad also received a big lift from junior transfer
Nicole Burns (Horsham, Pa./Hatboro), who averaged just under a block per set during the stretch run in October.
Gettysburg's record against its potential opponents this weekend stands at just 1-3. The Bullets dropped 3-0 decisions to both Haverford and Franklin & Marshall College early in the year when the team was struggling to produce a healthy lineup. Gettysburg also beat fourth-seeded Swarthmore College 3-0 and dropped its regular-season finale at Muhlenberg College in five sets.
“At this point, we know that it is do or die, so to speak,” said Keckler. “We must perform and show up or else it is the end of the line. The most important thing is that we give a 100 percent and leave it all on the court.”
The 2009 Centennial Conference Tournament gets underway with the first-round match between Muhlenberg and Swarthmore on Wednesday, Nov. 4, at Swarthmore at 7 p.m. The winner of that match will draw host and top seed Haverford in the first semifinal on Saturday, Nov. 7, at noon. Gettysburg and Franklin & Marshall will square off at about 2:30 p.m. on Saturday. The two semifinal winners will meet for the championship on Sunday, Nov. 8, at 1 p.m.
